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Basil Doerhoefer Mansion repaired on West Broadway

The grand front staircase and porch at the Basil Doerhoefer mansion in the 4400 block of West Broadway have been repaired and rehabilitated after a car smashed into the building more than a year ago, causing

Basil Doerhoefer Mansion repaired on West Broadway

The historic Basil Doerhoefer Mansion in the 4400 block of West Broadway has been repaired after a car crashed into the front staircase and porch.(Photo: Martha Elson/The Courier-Journal)

The front staircase and porch at the historic Basil Doerhoefer mansion in the 4400 block of West Broadway have been repaired and rehabilitated after a car smashed into the building more than a year ago, causing major damage.

Christ Temple Apostolic Church, which owns the mansion and rents out 12 units in it to the elderly and disabled, said the driver suffered a seizure related to a diabetic condition.

No one had to move out during the repair work, which was handled by Martin Construction Co. The church also owns the companion house next door, the Peter C. Doerhoefer House, 4422 W. Broadway.

Both historic buildings are part of the church campus, which also extends down 45th Street. The Basil Doerhoefer House was built in 1902 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

The Peter Doerhoefer House, built in 1908 for Basil Doerhoefer's son and designated as a local landmark in 2010 by the Louisville Metro Landmarks Commission, was included again on Preservation Louisville's annual list of Top 10 Endangered Historic Places list, released last week for 2014.

It's described by the advocacy organization as "one of the largest and most monumentally detailed of the American Four-squares in Louisville."

Michael Reed, the church's business manager, did not immediately return a call asking whether there are any new plans for the Peter Doerhoefer house, which has been vacant.

The church had wanted to tear it down to build a new sanctuary building, but a citizens petition was submitted that resulted in the landmark designation.

Peter Doerhoefer was vice president of Monarch Tobacco works, and his father and an uncle, John, were among the partners in National Tobacco Works, said to be one of the most profitable tobacco manufacturers in the United States.

The church campus was once the site of Loretto High School, and both mansions were used by the school. Sisters in the Loretto order, who operated the school, also lived in the Basil Doerhoefer House,

The Sisters built a new high school building in 1951 at the general site and sold the whole property to the church in 1974.

They held a "Loretto in Louisville" celebration in September of 2012 at the church to mark the 200th anniversary of the order's founding in Marion County.